No stranger to the fine dining circuit, Susanna Yoon graduated from the Pastry Arts program at The International Culinary Center and got her first job at Daniel Boulud’s Cafe Boulud. She then moved onto Thomas Keller’s illustrious Per Se, where she fell in love with chocolate. Yoon wanted friends and family to experience the restaurant’s chocolates, but they were only included as part of the three-Michelin-starred restaurant’s long and expensive tasting menu. So Yoon created Stick with Me, a boutique that made these highbrow chocolate sweets available to everyone. Her intergalactic, delicate, and beautifully detailed bonbons (chocolate covered candies) are making a sweet splash down on Mott Street—sans the need for an expensive tasting menu.
How did Stick with Me Sweets begin?
We want the people we love to stick with us, and the people you love to stick with you! So we handcrafted a box of chocolates that could express all those feelings into a beautiful box of chocolates.
What is special about your chocolate or process?
We are one of the only chocolate shops in New York to hand shell bonbons. Although a laborious process, the effort is worthwhile as it creates such beautiful, shiny chocolates in the end.
Let’s talk about the design. Can you share a little bit about how you create such visually stunning pieces?
When creating our designs, we concept the flavor first. Once we create the recipe, we find colors and designs to bring life to the ingredients inside or the story behind its creation.
The design we create serves as the visual identity of the flavor profile.
What are some of your favorite bonbon flavors?
I have many favorites, but I enjoy eating our “pie-in-a-bonbon” dessert concept. Inside of the bonbon, we include the best components of a pie, for example, the Kalamansi Meringue Pie is topped with meringue, layered with kalamansi custard, and set with a crunchy pie crust. You get all the satisfying flavors of a pie, all packed inside of a bonbon.
What are the fan fave flavors?
“New York, New York” has been our top seller since we opened. We bring a sense of nostalgia to each piece. It’s chocolate-coated candied pretzels surrounded by crunchy peanut butter praline and sea salt caramel ganache this month, and the flavor is ever-changing like the city it’s named after.
When I first arrived in New York, the first thing I ate was candied nuts on the side of the streets. They were roasting in every corner. I figured there was a reason for that; people are actually nuts for nuts! What makes this bonbon even more special are the various colored brushstrokes that represent the love and diversity of New York.
How many bonbons are meant to be eaten in a single sitting?
However many pieces it takes to satisfy your sweet tooth! Eat one, eat a couple, no judgment here.
